


Morphogenetic Reflections

by NavigatorV



Category: Zero Escape (Video Games), Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward - Fandom
Genre: Gen, One Shot, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-01
Updated: 2017-02-01
Packaged: 2018-09-21 06:32:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9535997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NavigatorV/pseuds/NavigatorV
Summary: Shortly before the beginning of the Nonary Game: Ambidex Edition is set to begin, a certain old woman thinks about her life and what choices she's made.





	

With a click, the face of the bracelet switched to a clock. 50 minutes until she would have to begin the events that would lead to the Nonary Game: Ambidex Edition. 50 minutes until her possible death. Akane sat alone in one of the voting rooms, an unconscious Quark being her only company. She shuffled over to the child and began wiping at his face with a handkerchief.  
“Honestly, did Junpei really not teach you how to bathe properly? You're covered in dirt, just like he always was.”  
Despite her words, Akane allowed a light chuckle to escape her lips. The first she'd experienced in a long time.  
With that done, she stood up and examined the time once more. 42 minutes. Could she really be anxious? True, death was something she wasn't looking forward to and it still ate at her even after all these years, but she was resolute. The AB Project had to succeed. There was no other way. She turned to Quark once more. The poor boy. She wasn't sure which sin was greater: leaving him alone with Dio for any length of time or involving him in the first place. A boy his age shouldn't have to go through this. But still, it had to be done, for Junpei.  
…  
...  
Was this truly right? Junpei had been living a long, full life, and while it had been filled with much sorrow, surely some happiness had to have been birthed despite everything. And here she was, about to take that all away. Every smile. Every tear of joy. They would all be lost as phantoms in another history that he wouldn't even know existed. And this poor child that he had gone out of his way to raise, what would become of him? Surely the events that lead to his birth were impossible in a history in which Radical-6 was never released.  
With a sigh, she peered at the bracelet. 27 minutes left. As much as she wished she could simply call the whole thing off, she knew it needed to be done. A history in which humanity can be saved. She had spent nearly half a century ensuring that it could be done. And it wasn't just her work that would be wasted. Sigma Klim. Kyle Klim. Luna. Lagomorph. All of it would have been for nothing if she quit now. Her goal came first and foremost. She would not allow anything less.  
“Perhaps it would have been better had I never been born at all.”  
For all of her determination, Akane's soul still felt nothing but loathing for herself. Her old, decrepit body housed so many unanswered sins, and it would only collect more as time went on. Truly, what had she offered to the world but unhappiness? Maybe that was why she was so focused on success. If she were to falter now, all of the demons she had trapped inside of her would have been born for no purpose.  
8 minutes. She moved slowly to the safe. The pass-code was simple enough to remember and she quickly pulled out the key inside. Unlocking the hatch above her, she had to shake her head.  
“Surely we could have built this at least somewhat lower, Dr. Klim.”  
After a few moments, her unsteady body finally found its way out and into the warehouse. It still felt so empty and alone. Not long ago equipment and GAULEMs had littered the place. But now, all that remained were the AB rooms, some graffiti, the chromatic doors, and the number nine door. She peered out over the sea of nothing as she paced for a moment. Soon, she would become a living example of Schrodinger's Cat. She had opened the box, now all that awaited was the examining of the cat's condition. Was this the timeline in which that cat survives, in which Sigma and Phi advance along to the finale of the project? Or was she merely another bloodstained step-stool?  
At long last, she made her way to the graffiti.  
TWO MILKMEN GO COMEDY  
Lagomorph, despite being an AI, could be so childish. With tears ready to form in her eyes, Akane whispered a request under her breath.  
“I'm not certain you're listening or if you would listen to someone like me after all this time, but please God, allow them to find the happiness they deserve.”

**Author's Note:**

> I felt that this would be an interesting examination of Akane's character. She's always come off to me as someone who doesn't like herself, yet still does what needs to be done, regardless of the consequences. I also found it interesting that she would place Quark in with her (and later Dio) rather than with Junpei, so I also wanted to examine that relationship a little bit. Thanks so much for reading and I'll catch you guys next time!


End file.
